Missed final Tawaaf of Hajj due to menses

18/10/2009| IslamWeb

Question:

How does a female pilgrim who skips Tawaaf Al-Ifaadhah due to menstruation make up for the Tawaaf if she already left Makkah for her home country with the Hajj group with which she came before her menses stopped?

Fatwa:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, may Allah exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

 

Whoever wears Ihraam to perform the rituals of Hajj (pilgrimage) or 'Umrah (small pilgrimage) has to complete its rituals and it is not permissible for him to come out of the state of Ihraam except after having completed the said ritual unless he is prevented from completing it. Allah says (which means): {And complete the Hajj and 'Umrah for Allah. But if you are prevented, then [offer] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals.}[Quran 2:196]. Therefore, it was an obligation on this sister to wait in Makkah until she becomes pure and then makes the Tawaaf Al-Ifaadhah (circumambulation around the Ka'bah by the pilgrims after they come from Mina on the tenth of Thul-Hijjah this is a pillar of Hajj), because being pure is a condition for the validity of the circumambulation according to the opinion of the majority of scholars, may Allah have mercy on them.

Tawaaf Al-Ifaadhah is one of the pillars of Hajj without which Hajj is invalid. Whoever forgets it is not obliged to offer a sacrifice, but he is obliged to perform it whether he forgot it or did not know the ruling about it. If he had left Makkah, he has to return to it for this purpose and he is still considered as a Muhrim (i.e. the restrictions of Ihraam apply to him) unless he performs the said ritual. Therefore, this sister has to return to Makkah and perform this ritual which is a pillar of Hajj and the restrictions of Ihraam apply to her if she had come to the end of the first stage of the state of Ihraam (all restrictions are lifted except having sexual relation with ones spouse), having thrown the Jimaar (pebbles) and cut her hair. The same thing applies to Sa'i and the questioner did not mention whether or not she had performed it. So if she had not performed it, she has to make Sa'i after Tawaaf and she will not come-out from the second stage of the state of Ihraam except by the two said matters (by performing Tawaaf and Sa'i).  

As regards the prohibitions that she had violated during this period (i.e. restrictions of Ihraam), if any, if this had taken place after the end of the first stage of the state of Ihraam, then there is no harm in this, but prohibitions had taken place before the end of the first stage of the state of Ihraam, and she had worn for instance stitched clothes or perfume, then there is no harm if she did not know the ruling. However, if she cut her hair or nails, then she has to offer a ransom for every prohibition she violates: to fast (for 3 days), give a charity (feed six poor people) or sacrifice (slaughter a sheep). If sexual intercourse had taken place, she is forgiven because of her not knowing the ruling, according to the Shaafi'ee school and one of the narration reported by Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, and Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, considered this opinion as the most preponderant one. Imaam An-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said in Rawthat Al-Taalib:

'If the pilgrim has sexual intercourse because of not knowing the ruling, or out of forgetfulness or because of being insane or forced, then this does not invalidate his Hajj and he does not have to offer a sacrifice.' 

Allah Knows best.